Finance-->Applied Math? Preparing to Transition...

[mariogs379]

Hey guys,

Background:

School: Liberal Arts College (freshman year), transferred to Columbia

Major: History

GPA: 3.93

Relevant Coursework: Calc 2 (A), Mulitvariable (A), Linear Algebra (B+), Differential Equations (A), Intro Micro (A), Intermediate Micro (A), Game Theory (pass/fail)

I currently work at a bulge-bracket bank (think JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, etc.) in convertible bonds origination within investment banking. It's definitely the most quantitative banking group my firm offers.

Questions:

So I'm planning on quitting my current job after my 1st year and am trying to plan out what to do next. My biggest frustration(s) now are that my group isn't that quantitative so I feel like my skills there aren't really being put to use. More importantly, I just don't care about the work that much. Lowering a company's cost of capital with a convertible bond can be a somewhat interesting problem but, at the end of the day, it's not that gratifying...just seems like there are so many more important problems out there. So here are my questions:

1) Given that I want to do more quantitative work that I think is valuable, what would be worth checking out? I've looked into biomath and some cryptography. Seems like the work you do in biomath supports a more important cause than crypto, but I think I'd like the day-to-day work more involved in crypto. To be fair, I'm just researching/reading about these fields now and don't know very much.

2) I'm planning on going to grad school starting in Fall 2013 but realize I need a stronger math background to make my application more competitive. What classes would make the most sense given that my interests are broadly in applied math? I was thinking I would do two or three non-degree classes in Fall 2012 to boost my profile; was thinking I'd do Probability Theory and then one or two others. What might make sense? Analysis, algebra, an optimization class?

3) What types of programs should I look into? Given that my background after the non-degree classes will be pretty broad I thought an applied math program made the most sense and I could make a more informed choice about what to specialize in later. Thoughts?

Thanks for all your help on this guys, much appreciated,

Mariogs

[jspring86]

I'd try an optimization or Operations Research class. From the sound of your interests, you'd probably be into Operations Research type things in general. Depending on how much you enjoyed differential equations (I'm not sure what level the class you took was), you could try PDEs, but since that is my research area I'm a little biased

If you're definitely going to do applied math of some sort an advanced numerical analysis or scientific programming course would also be extremely useful for you.

If you have other questions about applied math courses in general, I'm happy to elaborate more, I've taken a wide range of them in my career between completing my BS and now finishing my MS.

[R Deckard]

I would say you probably want to take:

• Probability Theory
  
• Real Analysis
  
• Complex Analysis
  
• Abstract Algebra
  
• Numerical Analysis
  

And maybe a stats class, before you can very well decide if you are even interested in an applied math program. After you begin taking more difficult math classes, you may find that you are not as interested as you thought you were. On the other hand, you might really enjoy them, but it's really difficult to say without at least taking a couple of the above classes for yourself.

[cyberwulf]

You might look into biostatistics, as well. Quantitative discipline w/ lots of applications, and you wouldn't have to take much more math to be competitive for top PhD programs (maybe just a mathematical statistics course, and Real Analysis if you're feeling ambitious). People in the field have an enormous variety of backgrounds. Feel free to PM me and I can give you more info if you're interested.

[mariogs379]

Hmm...I've looked into biostats some, but think I'd like trying to figure out how to model diseases mathematically...is there a way I can get more info on this? For what it's worth, I have no bio background.

I think Probability Theory makes sense but am not sure how to go about picking the second. Seems like it's hard to know if you'll like algebra/analysis without just taking it. Any thoughts on how to figure this out?

Thanks again guys,

Ben

[R Deckard]

Hmm...I've looked into biostats some, but think I'd like trying to figure out how to model diseases mathematically...is there a way I can get more info on this? For what it's worth, I have no bio background.

I think Probability Theory makes sense but am not sure how to go about picking the second. Seems like it's hard to know if you'll like algebra/analysis without just taking it. Any thoughts on how to figure this out?

Thanks again guys,

Ben

Try to find an intro to proofs/higher level math class that exposes you to various areas of math.

[jspring86]

Also, be a bit careful with the Probability Theory course you choose. Some of them can require extensive real analysis/measure theory background. I'd agree with tyler about the intro to proofs class. This will expose you to analysis, algebra, combinatorics, all while building skills you will need later if you decide to pursue a math career.

[Semester Photon]

Also since you are interested in applied math, take a computer programming course. Many applied math grad programs ask for or prefer a strong background in computer science. Maybe you already have a strong computer science background? I'm not really sure if you had to do programming for your job.

[Agradatudent]

If you are doing any math, applied or otherwise, you really have to take Analysis and Algebra. Cryptology relies on number theory which is married to algebra and analysis (depending on the direction you go). Without those two classes, no program can accurately judge your aptitude.